Bien Hoa Air Base Vietnam May 16 1965 Conflagration / Fire

5 Sep 2009 Just saw this video for the first time today and did not know it existed. I was USAF and attached to the 34th TAC group and was a firefighter with the crash rescue unit on base. I left in just before Christmas in 1964 but a number of my friends were there during the conflagration. Years later, I didn't see any familiar names on "The Wall" for that night so I guess they all made it thru. It was great to see the old O-11A crash trucks in action again. Memories...mostly good ones.

I was there that day. About a dozen B-57's loaded and ready for a morning takeoff in the alert area. the 1st one had a malfunction in its starting system which resulted in it exploding and each of the others going up and throwing off their bombs all over the place. A rubber bladder of jet fuel also detonated and was flowing down the taxiway. Lost about 30 folks and about the same number of planes, B-57's, A1E's and H's and a Navy F8.

The A1e was a two seater with space for two more in the blue room the A1h was the single seater

I was there on that day. I was aSuper Spad mech and you are right it was a accident from a B57. We were shocked at first then ran like hell for the bunkers. Hot bombs were set off for days after

I had just gotten off security duty half an hour before all hell blew loose. 34th APS. It is amazing after searching for information on this event for over 40 years it finally surfaces on youtube.

B-57s were jet engined,, no props that I saw. I was there and my buddies loaded the bombs and such.

I think your wrong...it was four F14 TOMCATS three F18 hornets and two F22 RAPTORS....LOL

Ugly business !!!

rockangel1967: What the heck are you talking about? Are you trying to tell me that someone claimed that 2 F-18 hornets and an Apache were destroyed in this mishap? Whom did you hear it from? An inebriated Fascist Liberal? The F-18 had not even reached the drawing board on the date of this mishap. The Apache wasn't even proposed until years after this mishap.

I was at Bien Hoa from mid 68-69 with the 604th ACS. We heard about this, but thats about it. I think I saw the movie in weapons school in Denver.